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An early prototype built revealed several limitations related to the way certain parts were toleranced and other issues with the design of individual components and the larger mechanism, including:
- The large offset between the sliding and pinned joints of the link that interfaced the actuation arm and distal finger meant that link was under higher than anticipated stress, and because of the mild compliance of the PLA, this led to inconsistent actuation.
- The original prototype, which involved the actuation slider moving away from the gripper jaws, had a much lower resistance to force applied to the gripper jaws than expected. Altering the mechanism such that the actuation slider moved toward the gripper jaws while closing resolved this issue.
- Some parts featured longer extruded sections of PLA that were subject to high stress, meaning they failed eventually. Redesigning these sections to allow steel shafts to pass through them eliminated this problem.
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